Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I first read Rainbow Rowell’s “Eleanor & Park” (EP) about 6 years ago when it first came out. I was very enthusiastic about it and scored it 5 stars. Recently, I have been re-reading some old favorites and decided to see if I were still in love with EP, and the answer is…….well, yes and no. I’m not going to repeat all my previous gushes except to say that there is a lot to like about this book. I’d recommend it for all ages from high school up, up, up. But this time around I do have some criticisms that didn’t bother me the first go. Maybe it’s me….. There were many scenes, mostly of our young lovers in their home lives, which were real downers. Eleanor sharing a bedroom with 3? 4? younger siblings and rather nasty little brats at that. Stepdad Richie coming home drunk, abusive, every night, including Christmas. Eleanor’s mom, bruised, petrified of her second husband, especially the threat of being abandoned with no source of income. Park has his share of problems also, but not as bad as Eleanor. Park’s Dad has stopped talking to him since Park started wearing eye makeup to school. Can you imagine that? There are other depressing scenes as well – Eleanor is bullied by other girls, especially by Park’s ex (ex as in someone he “dated” at age 12). I understand life is not the bed of roses we would like to think it is for most kids, and I am sure Rowell purposely exaggerated some scenes to convey perceptions from the viewpoint of a seventeen year old, but it really got to be a bit too much. It seemed to just drag and drag. All the way to the end, almost to the end of the end. But maybe you can deal with that better than I did. So, at least 4 stars.